Aerospace

Mars Rover.

L.A. County Aerospace At A Glance

Total employment in Aerospace: 36,800
50% of the country's aerospace suppliers are in California with the majority located within L.A. County.

L.A. County Aerospace Employer Breakdown:

In Los Angeles County, employment in this cluster is almost entirely working in the manufacture of aerospace products and parts.

Did You Know?

L.A. County is home to 318 aerospace products & parts manufacturing companies -more than Chicago, New York, the Bay Area and San Diego combined.
The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base designs, develops and purchases more than $9 billion worth of space and missile systems for the Air Force and other organizations within the Department of Defense.
The California space sector is a $20 billion industry that claims 24% of the global space market.

With three world-class research universities, several private think tanks, a key NASA outpost and some of the nation’s most important research and development facilities, Los Angeles County lays claim to a sizeable chunk of the high-tech marketplace.

While Northern California’s technology is based on silicon, much of Southern California’s advanced engineering and production is created from composites and electronics used in aerospace.

In 2007, this segment employed over 152,000 people in L.A. County. The technology industry has grown significantly. Businesses are working more closely with educational and research institutions to develop and create technology solutions. The result is a large number of new companies with highly innovative and exciting technology products.

Aerospace and defense giant Northrop Grumman and other legendary firms like Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works all have major operations here. Other aviation firms such as Torrance’s Robinson Helicopters, the world’s leading producer of civilian rotary aircraft, and AeroVironment of Monrovia, makers of small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) used in military and scientific applications, are representative of the kind of innovation for which L.A. County’s aviation sector has become famous.

Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory sends amazing robotic spacecraft to Mars and beyond, while nearby Idea Lab and Entretech launch promising new companies from their technology incubators. Additional technology incubators include Cal Poly Pomona’s Innovation Village, the UCLA on-campus Technology Incubation Program, and the L.A. County’s Business Technology Center in Altadena all serve to assist start-up and early stage technology firms to grow and prosper.

Green technology and the environmental sciences are playing an increasingly important role in the L.A. County economy.